On December 17, the Faculty of Physics held a pre-Christmas celebration to mark its 60th anniversary. The evening began with a shared expression of gratitude – more than sixty members of the Vilnius University (VU) community, including colleagues, alumni, and students, actively contributed to the organisation of the anniversary events. Together, they revived stories from recent memory and created new ones.
Members of the VU community who actively contributed to the 60th anniversary events
The guests of the evening were welcomed by Vilnius University Rector Prof. Dr Rimvydas Petrauskas, Chair of the Senate, Prof. Dr Eglė Lastauskienė, and Dean of the Faculty of Physics Prof. Dr Aidas Matijošius. The event was hosted by students – physics bachelor’s student Patricija Strumilaitė and High Technologies Physics and Business student Tadas Lekšas.
The first Mantvydas Juozapavičius Named Scholarships were awarded to Dr. Mindaugas Šarpis, a researcher at the Institute of Photonics and Nanotechnology, and to Ūla Marija Lauciūtė, a master’s student in Laser Physics and Optical Technologies.
The programme’s “Juzikas” segment featured a polemical discussion between Light Technologies student Dovydas Žiūra, High Technologies Physics and Business student Mindaugas Gudaitis, and lecturer, professor Mikas Vengris.
Professor Mikas Vengris
More moments from the festive event held on December 17 can be found here.
The Faculty of Physics’ 60th anniversary event series began in late August, when, at the initiative of the Institute of Chemical Physics, a celebration marking the start of the Year of Science and Cooperation was held for colleagues at Jašiūnai Manor.
Throughout September, radio amateurs, faculty alumni, Fidists (FiDi – Physics Day), and members of other student organisations operated under the special call sign LY60VUFF. The message was broadcast worldwide via radio waves. On September 5–6, shortwave radio signals were transmitted from the faculty rooftop, announcing the 60th anniversary. In total, 1,808 radio contacts from 72 countries logged the call sign.
On September 24, the community evening „Physicists, let's communicate!“ organised by VU SA FF brought together nearly two hundred participants.
On September 27, during the VU Alumni Festival, the Faculty of Physics welcomed visitors to the VU Grand Courtyard to learn more about its 60th anniversary, meet Dino Zaur, leave wishes for the faculty, play a game of chess, and win symbolic prizes. Meanwhile, the “Fotonas” School for Young Physicists invited participants in the Children’s University space at the K. Sirvydas Courtyard to create glowing postcards.
Faculty of Physics at the VU Alumni Festival
In October, over a dozen exhibits from the Physics Museum in Saulėtekis were temporarily relocated to the VU Observatory of Ideas. Guests at the opening of the exhibition “The Invisible Becomes Visible” immersed themselves in a captivating world of experiments together with student and FiDi representative Laurynas Čepauskis. The exhibition showcased devices, instruments, and other museum objects representing the fields of mechanics, electricity, magnetism, optics, atomic and nuclear physics. Here you can find moments from the exhibition’s opening event.
On October 20, a festive quiz was held, bringing together 14 teams from the Faculty of Physics community. The event was hosted by physics student Mykolas Radziukynas. Photos from the quiz can be found here.
All student organisations active at the Faculty of Physics contributed to the organisation of these events and helped create a festive atmosphere: Open Readings, Physics Day (FiDi), the Vilnius University Students' Representation at the Faculty of Physics, VU Young Energy Engineers Club, the and the VU Young Astronomers Club.
These are not the final events planned to mark the Faculty of Physics’ anniversary. A photography exhibition is also planned – the photographs will be displayed throughout all floors and staircases of Building III at Saulėtekio Avenue 9. The exhibition will remain open until the reconstruction of the Building III premises at Saulėtekio Avenue 9 begins. Information about the exhibition’s opening will be announced next year.
Rector and deans of the Faculty of Physics
In 1965, the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics was reorganised into the Faculty of Physics and the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics, and the first cohort of physicists graduated from Vilnius University in the same year.
First class of graduates
“The history of the Faculty of Physics is closely linked to the founding of Vilnius University (Latin: Academia et Universitas Vilnensis Societatis Jesu) in 1579, when natural philosophy was taught at the Faculty of Philosophy as part of Aristotelian philosophy.
A more prominent period of physics teaching began in 1632, when Oswald Krüger, professor of mathematics and astronomy, began working at the university. He not only taught, but also wrote a treatise entitled “Compendium Mathematicarum Disciplinarum”, which included sections on mechanics and optics. Around 1635, he established the first school of exact sciences. Thanks to his efforts, the University acquired an optical telescope, which could be used to observe Jupiter's moons and other celestial bodies.
An important stage in the history of physics began in 1753, when mathematics professor Tomas Žebrauskas established an astronomical observatory, and by the 1756–1757 academic year, a mathematics and experimental physics laboratory with a special library was already in operation. Interestingly, the department was located in a room next to the University Theater Hall, where Žebrauskas himself would hold public demonstrations of physical phenomena for the upper classes. This is how he found patrons to support science.
When Martynas Počobutas became rector of the university in 1789–1799, the teaching of physics, mathematics, and especially astronomy was significantly strengthened, as the rector himself taught these subjects. At that time, the faculty had six departments: Theoretical and Experimental Physics, Pure Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Astronomy, Painting, and Drawing," wrote the first graduate of the Faculty of Physics at Vilnius University, founder of the Physics Museum, and professor emeritus habil. dr. Liudvikas Kimtys about the history of the Faculty of Physics.